Welcome to the New Age
by Elizabeth Bartlett
Summary: With the revolution over and the throne won, the coronation is just the icing on the cake. So of course that's when her personal life gets complicated.


A/N: Wondered what the plot of Fable 3 would've been like in modern times and this is the result. Just a one-shot to test things out and hopefully I'll write the entire story. Let me know what you think- but as a friend says, constructive criticism is appreciated while flames roast my marshmallows. Don't own anything, I just play in the sandbox!

Carolina glanced out the window of the castle, seeing the people lining the street behind the barricades and took a deep breath to steady her nerves. It had been a month since they'd deposed Logan and she was being "officially" crowned at the Cathedral. Of course she'd been crowned the day after the coup was successful, but that had been more of 'signing the legislation to get it passed in parliament and make it legally binding' while this was for show and everyone who'd helped to make it possible.

_Especially_ for everyone who helped.

Spotting the news camera's by the gate, she wondered if it was too late to back out and just deal with the mound of paperwork that was sitting on her desk.

"Thinking about pulling a runner?"

Carolina turned around to see that Walter was standing in the doorway and flashed him a nervous smile, "What gave it away?"

Walter chuckled while moving into the room, "The fact that you've been rooted to the same spot for the last hour. And your mother did the same when she was crowned." His mobile chirped and Walter glanced at it. "They're pulling the car around back." he said slipping the device into his pocket and holding out an arm for Carolina to take.

"Where's Ben?" she asked as they walked through the halls and down the stairs towards the back. Originally they wanted her to exit through the main doors so everyone could see her before getting into the car, but that was the one time Lina put her foot down; if she was going to have a twenty foot train then there was no way she was walking out the front entrance, with her luck she'd get the bloody thing caught and trip in front of the entire country. "I haven't seen him since last night."

"At the cathedral, he wanted to do one last sweep before everyone arrived and run the security check himself."

"Again?" Carolina sighed as they reached the landing and saw that everyone was waiting for her to attach the train to her dress and step into the car. "Didn't he do that already yesterday?"

"Yes, but there are still those loyal to Logan out there; they could try and pull something today." Walter replied as they stepped into the convertible. It took a few extra seconds as everything was tucked in, but soon the door was closed and they were rolling around towards the front.

"You don't think..."

"Oh I highly doubt it, but you know Ben-he won't rest until he's satisfied." Walter commented as he quickly texted Ben that they were leaving.

"Gimme your mobile. "

"Why?" Walter asked as he handed it over.

"I'm telling him that if he frisks any dignitaries I'll make him stand in the back." Carolina replied as she tapped out the message. It only took half a minute before it buzzed with a response,

_What about Reaver and can it be a strip search?_

Feeling a smirk appear on her face she glanced up to see how far they had until the car made the last turn before sending a reply. _No, he might enjoy that. If he's not already there delay him until everyone else is sitting down so he has to stand in the back._

Carolina took a deep breath while she handed back the mobile and plastered on a smile as the crowd in front of the castle appeared and they exploded in cheers while waving the Albion flag. In the days since her flight from the castle to now they'd supported her and she knew that without it the revolution would've never gained any ground.

She had been the face but they had been the heart and soul of it.

Waving as the car moved at a crawl, she wondered what might of happened if she hadn't been able to escape the castle that night and Logan had her executed as well. A slight shiver shot down her spine at the thought and Carolina just smiled a little brighter to push the thoughts away.

* * *

Carolina played with the sheer overlay on her dress and tried to look happy. It had been a long day and she wanted nothing more than to sleep. But she still had one more "coronation party" to attend and she knew that it was just going to be just like the last three; full of wealthy people and politicians who pretended that they were on her side all along instead of only when it became clear that she was going to win.

Realizing that no one wanted to corner her at the moment, Carolina slipped through the open terrace doors and into the small garden and breathed in the crisp air. Sitting down on a bench she wondered if this was going to be her life now; galas instead of nightclubs, world summits instead of the South of France, pretending to like people when in reality she wanted nothing to do with them.

"_What have I gotten myself into?_" she asked herself while taking off her crown and looked at it, idly running a finger along the edge.

"This seat taken?"

Carolina plastered on a fake smile and opened her mouth to say she was just leaving when she saw that the voice belonged to Ben, who was holding a bottle of champagne in his hand and that mischievous look in his eye. "For you? Never."

"Good," Ben said as Lina shifted to make more room for him and he sat down. "I hate drinking alone."

"That's never stopped you before." Lina teased as she placed the crown back on her head.

"True, but today's a day where no one should drink alone." Ben smiled as he gave the bottle a good shake before popping the cork. The shot echoed across the empty garden and champagne exploded out of the bottle, spraying both of them.

"Ben!" Lina laughed as she wiped her face with her gloves. She was going to get a scolding from Jasper for getting her dress soaked in alcohol but she didn't care-she was enjoying herself for the first time since the day began.

"To the new ruler of Albion!" Ben toasted as he raised the bottle before drinking from it. "May she be better than her brother."

"Well seeing as how people actually like me, I'm already one-upping him." Lina stated as she took the bottle from Ben's hands and raised it to her own lips.

Ben laughed, "Drinking straight from the bottle. Don't let Walter see you do that or he'll think that I'm a bad influence on you."

Lina took another drink and handed it back to Ben, "That's because you are. Before I-"

She was cut off by Ben's lips crashing into hers and was taken by surprise by the action. Then her brain caught up and she pulled away, eyes wide in surprise and confusion.

Ben knew that it was a gamble; worst case scenario she had him reassigned to desk duty in Aurora while the best case being they started making out under Walter's nose. He had realized his feelings for her when they were in Aurora and thought that she was dead at the hand of the Crawler. Ben had already lost so many that he didn't want to lose her as well. They'd all been so focused on the revolution that he'd held himself back, but now that she was Queen he figured on throwing caution into the wind and admitting what he felt to her.

Feeling her face heat up she glanced away from Ben, feeling a stab of guilt in her stomach, and stood while smoothing her dress. "Walter'll be looking for me."

"I'm sure Paige or someone's distracting him." Ben said as he stood, confused at the statement and took Carolina's hand. "If you want we-"

"I'm sorry, Ben. I-I have to go." Lina cut him off while pulling her hand free from him and walked back inside as quickly as her heels would allow. Blinking back tears, she moved through the crowd until she spotted Walter.

"Lina! There you are, I was looking for you." Walter said, frowning at how pale she was. "You alright?"

Lina nodded, "Just have a headache, it's been a long day."

Walter glanced at his watch, "Why don't we skip the last party? That way you can get some rest. Tomorrow'll be busy."

"That's fine."

"I'll call for the limo."

Lina followed Walter as he left the room and once they were in the limo, leaned her head against the cool leather while closing her eyes. She hated herself for what had happened with Ben-she felt _something_ for him but at the same time still missed Elliot and couldn't help but feel like she was betraying him. It didn't matter that it had been a year since Logan had publicly executed Elliot, she had loved him something fierce and just couldn't move on from that.

Opening her eyes to see that they were pulling up to the castle gates and let out a sigh of relief. Soon she was up in her room and in her yoga pants and faded Dartmouth t-shirt. Flopping onto the bed Lina closed her eyes for a second and felt her body start to relax. Just as she felt like she was on the edge of sleep, her phone beeped and Lina let out a groan; only a few people had her number so it much be important. It beeped again and Lina pushed herself up with a huff. "Something better have blown up or be on fire." she muttered as she reached towards the nightstand to pick it up.

Glancing at the display screen, Carolina saw that she had ten texts from Ben and three voice messages. All of them asking her to call him because they needed to talk. The phone beeped again to let her know that another text had arrived from him.

"Ugh." she groaned, deleting the message without looking at it and switching off her phone before tossing it to the carpet. Falling back onto the bed, she closed her eyes and tried to make her brain shut-off. Tomorrow it would be a new day for her and the country as they rebuilt and focused on the future that lay ahead and her personal life needed to take a back seat.


End file.
